


ROUJ - The Last Hope for Remnant

by tattletale_writers



Category: RWBY
Genre: Adam Taurus Being an Asshole, Adult Ilia Amitola, Adult Ruby Rose, Alternate Universe - Dark, Alternate Universe - Future, Anti-Faunus Racism (RWBY), Bad Parenting, Blake Belladonna/Adam Taurus Child, Canonical Character Death, F/F, F/M, Fall of Beacon (RWBY), Future Fic, Kid Fic, Mechanical Eyes, Next Generation, Non-Binary OC, OC Team, Older Ilia Amitola, Older Ruby Rose (RWBY), Original Character(s), Ozma Reincarnation, Past Blake Belladonna/Adam Taurus, Past Cinder Fall/Whitley Schnne, Raven Branwen Child, Ruby Rose (RWBY) Needs a Hug, Sad Ruby Rose (RWBY), Things Go Wrong, War, White Fang, Whitley Schnee/Cinder Fall Child
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:14:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23453062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tattletale_writers/pseuds/tattletale_writers
Summary: Sixteen years after the Fall of Beacon, Salem has all but won. She holds two relics, controls two maidens, with a third under her thumb, and after the academies fell, the only living huntress left to oppose her is Ruby Rose. With a militant White Fang at war with Atlas, Grimm growing exponentially, and Oz's most recent host missing almost a year after Oscar's death, all hope seems lost.But simple souls refuse to give up hope.
Relationships: Ilia Amitola/Ruby Rose, Original Character/Original Character
Kudos: 9





	ROUJ - The Last Hope for Remnant

_“Hey Team,”_ Ruby Rose began, writing in a journal, her back to the wall. _“I wish I could say things were getting better since I last wrote, but I’m happy to say they aren’t getting that much worse. Let’s get the bad out of the way first: More Grimm keep coming, they’ve even started to invade smaller villages and towns. Salem’s control and influence seems to be growing more and more. The war between Atlas and the White Fang still rages on. The worst piece of news is that I’ve still yet to hear from Oz, but I’m sure I will soon. It’s not like he won’t come back. As for the bright side: I’ve been taking care of Bumblebee and she’s still running well. Atlas seems to have stabilized its propulsion system after losing the staff. Salem still hasn’t found the Summer Maiden or the relics of Choice or Destruction. As far as I know, Raven isn’t working with them either. I’m still alive, and I should always be thankful for that. I’m actually meeting an old friend of Blakes soon and I’m hoping that’ll go well. My last plan might be a little desperate, but it’s a plan. I’m not doing it alone either. Thanks, Blake. I know a lot of people might say our position is pretty bleak, but I still have hope. I’ve always had hope. If I don’t, who will, right? As long as there’s still one person willing to fight we have a chance. Say hi to everyone for me, okay? I love the three of you so much. Write again soon. - Ruby Rose, leader of team RWBY.”_

Ruby sighed, lowering the journal and tucking it and the pen back into her bag. Her eyes twitched for a moment, going dark before flickering back to life. Annoying, her prosthetic would need to be retouched soon, one of the many annoyances of these things. She took a look around the small town in central Mistal. The streets were totally empty just before sundown, the only sign of life was coming from the dusty tavern. This town, like most towns these days, was nearly desolate at all times. She glanced at the bar, shaking her head slightly at the “No Faunus” sign, before pushing the door open.

The bar could only be called lively in comparison to the rest of the town. The building was mostly wood, tables and chairs scattered throughout the first floor of the establishment, a couple groups were cramming into tables, talking quietly and drinking. The pool table was empty, with a thin layer of dust. The TV in the corner of the room was playing a broadcast reporting on an attack at an Atlesian military outpost just outside Argus. The bartender was cleaning some glasses while one figure was alone at the bar. She was dressed in red jeans, a grey top with a slight midriff, and a black and gold jacket. Her right hand was covered by a black glove, her whip blade at her hip. Her skin was tan with dark spots, brown hair tied back into a long curled ponytail, and she had gray-blue eyes. She was probably the only faunus in the bar, but she blended in well enough.

Ruby took a seat next to the woman, Ilia, settling on her right and exhaling. Ilia raised an eyebrow and took a sip from her drink.

“What’ll it be, miss?” the bartender asked, looking towards Ruby.

“Nothing.” she sighed, prompting the bartender to shrug and leave the two alone.

“Well, you’re still getting called ‘miss’ in your thirties, so I guess something’s going right.”

“You actually came.” Ruby said.

“Yeah, well. Not like I had anywhere else to be. Talk.” Ilia mumbled.

“Listen,” Ruby sighed, “I think it’s time.”

“Time?”

“Jett.”

“So, you called me here to tell me you’ve gone insane?”

“Ilia. If not now, when?”

“Sixteen years ago, before he got a chance to get his hooks in her. She’s already too far gone.” Ilia shook her head.

“I feel horrible about letting him have her, but the longer we wait the worse it’s gonna get.”

“Gods.” Ilia spat under her breath. “Ruby, it’s over. It’s been over for years. You lost. We lost. Just quit, please.”

“I don’t know the meaning of the word quit.”

“Verb. To stop or discontinue. Happy?”

“Ilia…” Ruby sighed. “Please. You know she’d wa-”

“No!” Ilia cut her off. “It doesn’t matter what she’d want, she’s dead.”

“Blake is, yes. Jett is still alive. Jett still needs us and we both promised Blake. She’d want what’s best for Jett.”

“Well, maybe what’s best for Jett is to be on the winning side.”

“If you believed that, you wouldn’t be here.”

Ilia sighed, maybe Ruby was right. Maybe on some level, she did want to save Jett, to do for her what she wasn’t able to do for Blake, but an even larger part of her was afraid. She glanced up towards the TV, grimacing when she saw images flash next to the reporter, her eyes tracing the closed captioning.

“The attack was believed to have been led by the White Fang’s High Leader, Adam Taurus, and his daughter and lieutenant, Jett Taurus.” The reporter read, the caption reflecting it to Ilia.

That stung more than she’d like to admit. Jett _Taurus._ Not Jett Belladonna. That’s what the world knew her as, what they would always know her as. Jett Taurus, a terrorist. Jett Taurus, a murderer. Jett Taurus, a monster, just like her father. She deserved to win, she deserved to be comfortable, she deserved to not have her whole life torn apart at seventeen, but she also deserved way better than to have her name spoken in the same breath as that monster.

“How?” Ilia choked out, Ruby forced back the beginning of a smile.

“I have it on good authority their next target is going to be the Argus airbase. Wednesday.” Ruby said.

“Whose authority?”

“Their own,” Ruby smirked, handing a small data drive to her. “You’d be surprised what people leave lying around behind non-airtight doors.”

“You infiltrated a White Fang compound?”

“It’s been a long wait for the next Oz. I’ve had to keep busy somehow.”

“So what do we do?”

“I’ve been watching them, tactics for small outposts are a crapshoot, but the way they strike big targets? It leaves an opening. They send her in first, have her clear out a primary target, then storm it.”

“Why send her first?” Ilia raised an eyebrow.

“Stealth-related semblance, I think. Not sure exactly what it is, but she can sneak into almost anywhere virtually unnoticed.”

“Hopefully we can notice her…”

“You, actually.” Ruby grimaced.

“Me? I’m getting her alone?”

“Yes. Don’t freak out but it makes so much more sense to just send you. You’re way stealthier than I a-”

“Didn’t you just say you infiltrated a White Fang compound?”

“In the dead of night when I’ve memorized the guard patrols. Not in a base I’ve never been to in broad daylight!”

“Ugh.” Ilia groaned.

“And honestly? I don’t think she’d trust something like this coming from a human.” Ruby shrugged.

“And what do I say? Your dad’s a lying bastard who killed your mom and grandparents, just trust me on that?”

“You forgot, didn’t you?” Ruby reached into her bag, sliding a white scroll to Ilia.

“A scroll?” Ilia asked.

“Blakes.”

“Blakes scro- Oh. Right. It’s locked, do you know the passcode?”

“Same as it always was. 5-3-8-8.”

“Of course.”

“All you have to do is convince Jett to watch the recording, okay?”

“And if she won’t listen to me? If she thinks it’s faked?”

“She’ll listen. I have faith in you, I have faith in Blake.”

“And what will you be doing? Just relaxing?” Ilia asked.

“Hardly. We need allies, I’m off to find some more.”

“Where are you going to do that?”

“I need to visit my aunt.”

“So you really have reached your last resort, huh?”

“No such thing as a last resort.” Ruby sighed. “Just another plan. If this doesn’t work, I try ag-”

“Hold on, no. Jett isn’t just another plan.” Ilia cut her off. “This war, this fight, it has cost me everyone I care about. I’m pretty sure it’s cost you the same. It’s cost your eyes, my hand.” Ilia flexed the prosthetic beneath her glove.

“What I’m saying is,” She continued. “I don’t give a fuck about anyone else you recruit, but you need to promise me that no matter what, you will do everything in your power to keep Jett alive, including dying for her if you have to. There’s a lot I’ll deal with losing, but I cannot deal with this war taking her life too. Understand?”

“You have my word, Ilia. I’ll keep Jett safe.”

“Good. Where do we meet you?”

“Brunswick Farms. Northern Anima.”

Ilia raised an eyebrow.

“Abandoned property, secluded. Formerly infested with Grimm.” Ruby winced. “Formerly. It’s where Oscar and I agreed to meet in his next cycle.”

“So Jett and I will meet you there with-?”

“As many bandits who will join me.”

“And then?”

“We wait.”

“This plan, it’s the best chance Remnant’s got?”

“Ilia” Ruby sighed. “Right now, it’s the only chance Remnant’s got. I’ll meet you there, okay?”

“Yeah.” Ilia grimaced. “Hey, Ruby? Good luck.”

“You too.”

\---

“Command, come in.” A voice came over the headset radio of an Atlesian soldier. “Repeat. Command, this is patrol alpha, we’ve been attacked. Smoke everywhere. Not sure by what, had to check-in. What’s your status?”

“Command! Repeat. Command, what’s your st-AAAAH!” The transmission cut off midway through the soldiers' scream of pain. Adam Taurus could barely pick it up from where he was standing, but it made him smirk nonetheless as he worked at the computer. Technology was never his strong suit, but luckily the drive he inserted into the computer was doing most of the work for him.

A soldier in the control room started to stir, his back pressed against the doorframe. His head was ringing and his vision was fuzzy as he pieced the last few minutes together. The door to the control had exploded, and there was an attack. They were attacked by the White Fang. Not just any member, the High Leader, Adam Taurus.

The soldier got his bearings, trying to stifle a reaction when he noticed Adam still in the room, his back turned. The high leader wore a jacket that prominently displayed his emblem, a wilting red rose overlayed with white nightshade. This attire was mostly black with red accents, and spiked red hair. Two bull horns were visible over his white and red mask.

The soldier glanced at his pistol, if Adam’s aura was low enough, there was a chance it could kill him, but if it wasn’t, all of this would be in vain. The soldier sighed, grasping at his belt and finding what he was looking for, a smooth round orb with a pin at the top. He took another deep breath. This would almost certainly kill him, but it would take Adam down with him. That had to be worth it. For his Kingdom.

A bullet impact shook the soldier from mental preparation. Bullet. That means gunfire. Gunfire means someone is shooting at him. Who? What? Where? Nevermind, not the focus. Adam, he needed to focus on Adam. The soldier gathered his courage, feeling for the pin in his hand again, only to find the grenade gone.

What? Where did it go? How did it just disappear? He was holding it the entire time. The soldier frantically glanced and felt around him, finding nothing of use, the grenade was gone without a trace. Not important, deal with it later, Adam was the target. New plan.

The soldier grabbed for his sidearm, if he wasn’t going to kill him, he was certainly going to try. He raised the gun, a flash of black came in his peripheral vision. Check on that in a minute, no distractions, Adam first. He took a deep breath, the clang of metal filled his ears. Still didn’t matter. Finish Adam. He aimed, a katana blade pierced through his neck, ending his life instantly.

Jett Taurus cleared her throat, dropping her semblance and announcing herself to her father. Jett stood at about five-foot-seven, with glowing amber eyes and shoulder-length black hair, the left side of which was shaved clean. She was dressed in black combat boots, black leggings, a black jacket, and a black scarf. Her weapon, Midnight Requiem, was in her hand. It was modeled after her mother's Gambol Shroud. A katana with a bladed, cleaver-like sheath, a ribbon extending from the hilt. The key difference was the longer blade, instead of folding in into a pistol, it folded up into a rifle, ejecting a scope from the hilt at the same time. Jett’s most distinctive feature was the long black tail that extended from her tailbone, flowing behind her in a fluid motion. Her mother being a cat faunus, and her father a bull, her faunus trait was up to chance, a panther tail was, all considered, one of the better traits to have and it suited her.

“Sloppy, dad.” Jett Taurus scoffed as she wiped her blade off. 

“I knew you’d have my back.” Adam smirked.

“I always do.”

“And with this.” Adam held up a datapad, containing codes they needed to land near Mistral without getting shot out of the sky. “We’re one step closer to making Atlas bend the knee.”

“Don’t be so dramatic.” Jett rolled her eyes, Adam just smirked, staring at her.

“What?”

“Nothing” Adam sighed. “You just remind me a lot of her sometimes. She’d be proud of you, you know?”

“Damn right she would. I’m going to avenge her.”

“I know you will. Your mother was about your age when sh-” Adam trailed, his voice shaking.

“Hey!” Jett hit her father on the arm. “Don’t get soft on me. I’m still alive, not going anywhere. I’m gonna outlive you too, as a matter of fact”

“Well, I sure hope so. You did good, Jett. Somehow you find a way to top yourself, consistently.”

“If I’m not getting better, I’m getting worse. I refuse to get worse.”

“That’s my girl.” Adam smiled, kissing his daughter on the forehead. “Let’s head back to camp. Relax a little for a few days, we’ve earned it.”

“I’ll relax when they’re dead. When every single one of them has paid the price for what they did.“

“Jett.” Adam sighed. “You taking some time to relax isn’t going to stop us from achieving our goals.”

“We could move the airbase job up.”

“We have injured, we have tired. We stick to the schedule.”

“Then we should be training.”

“There’s a balance with everything. Take the night off at least. Relax. Have something to eat, get some good rest, and we’ll get back to work soon.”

“But da-”

“That’s an order, lieutenant.” Adam smiled.

“Yes, sir.” Jett rolled her eyes, walking past her father out of the outpost.

There was a balance with Jett, and it was one Adam had learned to manage over the years. Keep her fed with enough reasons to hate humanity to keep her committed to their cause, but give her enough distractions and time to relax to keep her hatred from consuming her. She never lacked proper motivation, the belief that humans were responsible for the deaths of her mother and grandparents made sure of that, but growing too eager was threatening to get her killed, and she was no use to him dead.

At the core of her personality, Jett reminded him of Blake, but beyond that? Adam only wished Blake could be as cold, as ruthless, as driven. Jett was everything he wanted Blake to be and sometimes even more. He had molded her from birth to be his perfect lieutenant, perfect assassin, and soon, very soon, he felt it was about to pay off. They would strike Atlas down, and humanity would have no idea what hit them.

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is something new! QWAR is still happening and will be regularly updated (probably within a day or two of this). I'm just adding this in addition.
> 
> I'm a little nervous. I know OC Teams aren't the most well-received things in the world, much less when they're tied to canon characters. But I'm taking my shot at it. I can guarantee at no point will they be attending classes or going to an academy. This is meant to create a similar feeling to Volumes 4 or 6, more than the first three. I hope you'll give it a shot.
> 
> Jett's semblance is meant to be a little bit of a mystery at this point. I'm curious what you all think it is though.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading.


End file.
